Friday, September 13, 2019

Halloween will be extreme again in Rockville this year. Extreme Halloween is back at 1616 Rockville Pike with costumes, props and decorations. They are located next to Mattress Firm, at the corner of Rockville Pike and Halpine Road, across from Congressional Plaza.

Maryland Avenue will be closed between Fleet Street and E. Jefferson Street between 8:00 AM this morning and 2:00 PM this afternoon; the rallies are taking place in front of the County Council office building at 100 Maryland Avenue between 11:00 AM and noon.

Vinson Street will be entirely closed during those same hours.

The rally against the County's sanctuary policy will be headlined by television commentator and author Michelle Malkin and conservative commentator and talk radio personality Larry O'Connor. A coalition of progressive, immigration, and faith-based organizations has scheduled a counterprotest at the same location. Expect police to try to keep the two groups separate, but if you are not participating in one side or the other, you'll probably just want to steer clear of this area mid-day today.

Montgomery County Interfaith Community Liaison Rev. Mansfield Kaseman released a statement saying he has advised police that he and his team are available to assist in "maintaining peace" at today's rally, and has discussed the event with County Executive Marc Elrich.

Hiro Sushi has closed at 5268 Nicholson Lane in the White Flint Plaza shopping center. No reason is posted for the closure. However, I can find no listing online showing the space available for lease yet.

Thursday, September 12, 2019

Opponents and advocates of Montgomery County's policy of not detaining prisoners with ICE detainers being released from the Montgomery County jail until federal agents can take them into custody will face off outside the Montgomery County Council building at 100 Maryland Avenue in Rockville tomorrow, Friday, September 13, 2019 from 11:00 AM to noon. A rally headlined by political commentator and author Michelle Malkin and WMAL conservative radio host Larry O'Connor will take place on the steps of the Council building.

Rally organizers say they will call on Montgomery County Executive Marc Elrich to withdraw his executive order,"Promoting Community Trust," that put further restrictions on ICE cooperation this year. Elrich has said he will review aspects of the policy, and determine whether to make changes.

Activists and organizations who support the County policy, which has come under national political fire from the Trump administration after eight immigrants in the country illegally were accused of separate sexual assaults of women and children in the County over the last few weeks, are pledging to turn out in force to counter the rally. "Let's drown out the hate with NOISE," Showing Up for Racial Justice - Montgomery County said in a Facebook announcement of their counter-rally, "MoCo Stands with Immigrants," that will take place at the same time and location.

Malkin is touring the country to promote a new book, Open Borders, Inc.: Who's Funding America's Destruction?, the release of which has coincided with the Montgomery County controversy. Others slated to appear at the original rally include Shari Rendall of FAIR, Brad Botwin of Help Save Maryland, author Ying Ma and Montgomery County Republican Party chair Alexander Bush.

The counterprotest will include members of SURJ, host Takoma Park Mobilization, Jews United for Justice, CASA de Maryland, UFCW Local 1994, Montgomery County Civil Rights Coalition, Action in Montgomery, JCRC of Greater Washington, Poor People's Campaign, United We Dream, Sanctuary DMV, and other local unions and organizations.

Wednesday, September 11, 2019

More news from Congressional Plaza in Rockville today. Construction on the future Barnes & Noble bookstore, opening in 2020, has begun in earnest across several empty storefronts. A covered pedestrian shelter has been erected to protect Plaza patrons during the work, and it also shows that this will be a more-complicated build-out than the typical tenant switchover.

Tuesday, September 10, 2019

After losing several tenants, Congressional Plaza in Rockville has been adding new ones in spades. Orangetheory Fitness and CorePower Yoga are the latest two officially announced by property owner Federal Realty. Both fitness facilities will be part of a new section of Congressional Plaza they are branding as FITRow.

One space remains to be filled in the FITRow section, which will be next to the future Barnes & Noble bookstore in the north wing of the property. Federal Realty says it found success with its original test of the FITRow concept at its Assembly Row property in Boston. I can say there has been a huge response to the recent announcement of Orangetheory's future location at 7900 Wisconsin Avenue in downtown Bethesda, which bodes well for a warm reception in Rockville.

“FITRow is a lifestyle, a community where people have access to several boutique studios that can evolve with their fitness wants and needs,” Federal Realty Director of Asset Management Kari Glinksi said in a statement this morning. Orangetheory and CorePower will both open in 2020.

The Shady Grove Professional Building's retail strip mall at the corner of MD 355 and Shady Grove Road is going to be redeveloped as Rock Grove, a more-modern strip retail center. A rendering shown by JBG Smith promises a more modern and attractive appearance, while keeping the same retail use.

Dunkin' Donuts (which is not in the strip mall structure, but rather in the building itself) and Minerva Indian Cuisine are still operating, but other storefronts have been cleared out. It's uncertain which vacated tenants might return in the new center, as JBG Smith is advertising spaces as available in the future Rock Grove Center. It would be nice if they added a fast food restaurant with drive-thru to the parking lot, such as Steak and Shake, Jack-in-the-Box, or Hardee's - any chain currently not found in Montgomery County.

Monday, September 9, 2019

Friendship BBQ has opened at 33-E Maryland Avenue at Rockville Town Square. It's not Carolina or Texas barbecue, but Chinese barbecue. The cuisine, and even the wood used to grill the skewers, are native to the Xinjiang region of China, according to property owner Federal Realty.

Friday, September 6, 2019

Jersey Mike's looks pretty close to the finish line for opening at the Fallsgrove Village Center. Even the chip bags are in place. What's better - Jersey Mike's at Wintergreen Plaza or Firehouse Subs at Upper Rock? Let me know in the comments below.

Thursday, September 5, 2019

A bank branch with a drive-thru has been proposed for the former Meixin Supermarket location at 460 Hungerford Drive in Rockville. It's interesting to see another Town Center Phase II property going to a low-density, traditional automobile-oriented MD 355 use. Their application has been deemed incomplete by planning staff, however, so there may be at least a brief delay in this moving forward.

Tuesday, September 3, 2019

The Sears store in Gaithersburg will close by mid-December 2019, Sears/Kmart Public Relations Director Larry Costello confirmed to Suburban News Network, publisher of RockvilleNights.com. Located at Lakeforest Mall, the Gaithersburg store appeared on a list making the rounds of national news organizations, Reddit and Facebook groups, but the impending closure had not been officially confirmed by Sears until now.

Costello said a liquidation sale will begin mid-September at the Gaithersburg Sears and Stevensville Kmart stores. One Sears store in White Oak, and a Sears appliance outlet in Wheaton, will remain in Montgomery County after the Gaithersburg store has closed.

Monday, September 2, 2019

The National Capital Region Transportation Planning Board of the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments has approved $280,000 in funds to provide better pedestrian and bicycle access to the Rockville Metro station from the east side. They especially focus on the area of Park Road between N. Stonestreet Avenue and S. Stonestreet Avenue.

Including wider sidewalks, a new intersection alignment, and bike lanes, the improvements were among the recommendations of the Stonestreet Corridor Study. They also again show the benefit of Rockville having an active seat at the table - Mayor Bridget Donnell Newton has been a member of the TPB, and was elected as its chair for 2017.